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La Paulée, Daniel Johnnes’s annual tribute to Burgundy, is a
once in a lifetime event for anyone who loves the wines of this region steeped
in history. This year’s Paulée was held in San Francisco, which always offers a
more relaxed setting than the hustle and bustle of New York City. The
festivities started with a fabulous afternoon tasting in which producers poured
three vintages of one of their flagship wines. Needless to say, it was a real
treat to taste these mini-verticals given the minuscule quantities made of most
of these wines.

Later that evening I attended the Rare Wine Dinner, which
more than lived up to its billing.

Chefs Daniel Boulud, Michael Mina and Michel Troisgros
teamed up to create this magnificent menu, which served as the backdrop for a
head-spinning assortment of impeccable, rare Burgundies. A number of this
country’s top sommeliers were on hand to serve the wines. It was a star-studded
show all-around.

The 1997 Salon
and Domaine Leflaive’s 2007
Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières were among the wines poured during one of
the finest cocktails hours I have ever been to. The hors d’oeuvres were
delicious and would have made a fabulous meal on their own.

Once seated in the dining room, an incredible array of wines
awaited. The opening flight of Puligny-Montrachet
Les Pucelles from Domaine Leflaive
was utterly staggering. The 2002 was
seamless, ripe, opulent and intricately woven, with a kaleidoscopic, vivid
expression of fruit that was breathtaking. The 1996 showed more advanced notes of smoke, tar and licorice, all
wrapped around a massive core of fruit. It was a profound Pucelles. The 1989 was soft, subtle and delicate,
with pretty, minty notes that added freshness on the finish. These were pretty
hard wines to follow. Three vintages of Domaine
Faiveley’s Corton-Charlemagne were all tasty. My favorite was the 1996, which still showed quite a bit of
freshness, especially compared to the 1999,
a wine that seemed to be evolving rather quickly. Among the first courses, I
especially liked the shellfish broth (Bouillon de Coquillages).

Three 1995s from Dujac
all paired beautifully with our steamed bass (Bar de Ligne). The 1995 Clos Saint Denis was the most delicate
and forward of the group. Dried cherries, flowers and spices all suggested the
wine was close or perhaps slightly past peak. The 1995 Bonnes Mares was decidedly masculine, with awesome power and
richness in its explosive fruit. The sheer depth and power of this long-lived
Burgundy were remarkable. The estate’s 1995
Clos de la Roche was initially rather carnal and earthy, but then it turned
more delicate and layered in the glass. Stylistically it fell somewhere between
the Clos St. Denis and the Bonnes-Mares.

The flight of 1990s that followed was monumental. The 1990 Clos St. Denis showed great
intensity and power in a seamless expression of fruit. At the same time, it was
graceful and feminine relative to the other 1990s in this flight. What a
gorgeous, utterly complete wine. The estate’s 1990 Bonnes-Mares revealed an additional layer of muscle and depth.
Despite its richness, this was a wonderfully balanced, sublime Burgundy. The 1990 Clos de la Roche stole the show.
It was gloriously ripe and opulent, with superb concentration and depth. All
three of these 1990s were compelling for their richness and overall sense of
harmony. Well-stored bottles have another decade of life ahead of them. The
quail stuffed with foie gras (Pigeonneau et Foie Gras) was a suitably rich dish
and utterly decadent, but also a tough act to follow.

As a group the 1985s
were more advanced and also seemed to offer far less upside potential. The Clos St. Denis was dominated by firm
tannins that gave the wine a sense of angularity and leanness, with limited
fruit. I tasted two bottles, neither of which seemed to suggest the wine might
eventually come around. The Bonnes-Mares
was the most convincing of the 1985s. Here the dark red fruit was textured,
rich and expansive, although the wine needed quite a bit of time in the glass
to show its pedigree. The 1985 Clos de
la Roche came across as soft, floral, approachable and fully mature. Though
somewhat simple in this context, it was also highly enjoyable as all of the
elements seemed resolved.

I can’t think of too many better ways to finish a dinner
than with a fine, aged white Burgundy, and we had two of them in this flight. Domaine Leflaive’s 2002
Chevalier-Montrachet was massively rich, with ripe, opulent fruit that
verged on tropical notes. Fresh, mineral notes emerged in the glass to round
things out very nicely. As great as this wine was, its best years seemed to lie
ahead. The 1996 Chevalier-Montrachet
was stellar. This was a cooler, more restrained Chevalier-Montrachet with
marvelous complexity and nuance in its fresh, mineral-infused fruit. The
clarity and precision were things of beauty. Leflaive’s 1989 Chevalier-Montrachet was delicate, sensual and
totally inspiring. Blessed with a liqueur-like inner sweetness, the 1989
revealed delicate scents of jasmine, licorice and acacia that melded seamlessly
into round, sensual fruit. It was a great bottle to end a fabulous evening of
wine and food.